February 2, 2003
The Honorable Bill Young
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations
U.S. House of Representatives
2407 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202)225-5961
The Honorable David Obey
Ranking Member, Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
2314 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
(202)225-3365
The Honorable Ted Stevens
Chairman, Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
522 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202)224-3004
The Honorable Robert Byrd
Ranking Member, Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
311 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202)224-3954
Dear Chairman Young:
On September 3, 2002, the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) wrote to Members of the U.S. House and U.S. Senate expressing strong support for emergency disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers who experienced financial losses due to drought, floods, and other natural disasters. NASDA suggested that the Food Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 remain intact and not be changed. At that time, reports estimated outlay reductions from the CCC due to unspent deficiency payments and counter cyclical payments could reach $6 billion. NASDA further suggested that consideration should be given to these outlay reductions as possible sources of funding.
As Congress considers the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, NASDA expresses its strong support for the provision in the bill that would provide $100 million for a specialty crop block grant program. We would respectfully request that you direct these funds to the state entity responsible for agricultural production and regulation. A similar appropriation that was received by state agencies two years ago has been a resounding success. States, working in cooperation with their agricultural community, were able to direct funding to areas that would provide the greatest overall benefits to their state citizens and producers. These areas included programs such as food safety and security, agricultural education, research, pest and disease prevention, marketing and promotion, and enhancement of the health and nutrition of our children and adults. We reiterate our appreciation that Congress has once again chosen to recognize the benefits of specialty crops to this country’s agricultural production.
In a January 21, 2003 letter which NASDA wrote to Chairman Cochran, we also indicated our support for disaster assistance to all producers who suffered losses due to natural disasters in 2001 and 2002. NASDA strongly supports emergency disaster assistance for farmers and ranchers who have experienced financial losses due to drought, floods, pests and natural disasters. We appreciate the Senate’s passage of the package, and we are encouraged that Congress is acting to provide necessary assistance. It is also important that assistance be delivered to eligible producers as quickly as possible. However, we are concerned with the method of delivering disaster payments in the Senate-passed version.
NASDA policy supports disaster assistance, which does not undermine the intent of crop insurance programs. Providing disaster assistance to producers with minor or no losses is contrary to this position. Providing assistance to all producers in counties with natural disaster declarations regardless of individual losses becomes a windfall for those with minor or no losses and inadequate for those who suffered the greatest losses. The interest of fairness and equitable distribution of disaster funds indicate that disaster assistance should be based on individual losses rather than county disaster declarations. The emphasis on cost control in this package is also good reason for disaster payments to be directed to and received by those most needing meaningful assistance.
We want to strongly reiterate our previous position that disaster assistance be provided to only those producers who experience losses, including non-insurable commodities. It is crucial to prudently target our limited resources. We are concerned that under the Senate passed version of the legislation, all producers in an eligible county who raised crops unaffected by the loss triggering the disaster declaration will receive the same benefit that an affected producer would receive. Additionally, any producer of a non-insurable commodity who experienced a loss would be ineligible for assistance under the Senate version. There are producers with losses in counties that did not receive a disaster declaration that would also be ineligible for payment.
Providing supplemental payments equal to 42 percent of 2002 direct farm program payments seems an equitable approach for a nationwide economic disaster program, but the recently passed farm bill was designed to deal with this problem. In the case of natural disaster losses, we believe that program delivery requires producer eligibility determinations beyond residence in a county with a disaster declaration.
County disaster declarations are regularly sought and approved on the basis of qualifying losses of one crop, which may or may not be a farm program crop. Low interest federal emergency loans then become available to individual producers based on actual losses suffered in declared and contiguous counties. In many cases, county disaster declarations do not necessarily mean that all crops and/or producers suffered losses.
Because natural disasters do not respect county lines or farm borders within counties, we are concerned that under the Senate-passed version all producers in an eligible county who raised crops unaffected by the loss triggering the declaration will receive disaster assistance equal to neighbors who suffered dramatic losses to his/her crops. Additionally, producers in counties without disaster declarations will need to prove individual losses greater than 35 percent to qualify for assistance.
NASDA continues to support efforts to provide agricultural disaster assistance to producers who suffered losses due to natural disasters in 2001 and 2002. We look forward to working with you to attain an adequate funding level for and equitable distribution of disaster assistance for our agricultural producers.
Sincerely,
<signed>
Patrick A. Takasugi
cc: Disaster Assistance Conferees